The Shape of a Practice

Local and global processes are closely intertwined in the Anthropocene. Whereas rising sea levels know no national borders, coastal communities escaping seasonal flooding do. How can such contradictions be addressed? How can diverse local research, political struggles and social practices be related to one another? The Shape of a Practice brings together over 100 academics, scientists, artists and activists from across the world to share research material that try to understand and respond to the Anthropocene through knowledge practices and local contexts.

The research material will be collectively worked through and discussed in four different practice-based seminars (Communicating, Sensing, Archiving and Consensus Building), which will act as catalysts for delving into the purpose, context and method that makes each research project what it is. A discursive program runs concurrently throughout the week, during which different aspects of the research will be discussed and presented to the general public, inviting them into the conversation. In addition to the events held at HKW, a virtual landscape serves as a venue for The Shape of a Practice. There, the public can access research materials, visit installations and take part in live presentations, screenings and discussions.

The installation The Current deals with the Mississippi River as an Anthropocene landscape. How can agency be established at the interfaces between environmental issues, social and health policy, racism and, not least, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic? The Current brings together field studies by artists, scientists and activists who examined the landscapes along the river as part of the 2019 HKW project Mississippi. An Anthropocene River.

The Shape of a Practice will be held in English and selected events will be translated into German.

Contributors: Babak Afrassiabi & Nasrin Tabatabai, Ravi Agarwal & Paulina Lopez,  Arthur Baer, Calum Bowden, Imani Jacqueline Brown, Johannes Bruder, Felipe Castelblanco, Denise Frazier & Rebecca Snedeker, Maya Indira Ganesh, Tia-Simone Gardner, Beate Geissler & Oliver Sann, Parrr Geng, Shana M. griffin, Raphaël Grisey & Bouba Touré, Christina Gruber, Stéphane Grumbach & Olivier Hamant, Orit Halpern, Sandi Hilal, Brian Holmes, Katrin Hornek, Gilly Karjevsky & Rosario Talevi, John Kim, Spółdzielnia “Krzak,” Sarah Lewison, Jason Ludwig, Sadie Luetmer, Margarida Mendes, Tahani Nadim, Huiying Ng, Abbéy Odunlami, Swan Parsons, Lynn Peemoeller, Shahana Rajani & Zahra Malkani, Patricia Reed, Tim Schütz, Nishant Shah, Yasaman Sheri, Adania Shibli, Karolina Sobecka, Nikiwe Solomon, Ego Ahaiwe Sowinski, Ela Spalding, Allison Stegner, Rasmus Svensson,  Temporary continent. (Jamie Allen, Louise Carver, Nina Jäger, Sarrita Hunn, James McAnally, Clémence Hallé, Benoît Verjat, Duncan Evennou, Anne-Sophie Milon), Simon Turner, Joe Underhill, Anna  Van Voorhis, Adrian Van Wyk, Monique Verdin, Andrew S. Yang and many others.

Concept and implementation: Katrin Klingan, Nick Houde, Janek Müller, Neli Wagner, Johanna Schindler, Anna Chwialkowska in collaboration with Carlina Rossée and Christoph Rosol.

HKW, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and other partners across the world, have been continuously developing an Anthropocene Curriculum since 2013; a steadily growing corpus of experimental research questions, field studies, educational and participatory formats for collaborative transdisciplinary practices. 

The Shape of a Practice is part of the Anthropocene Curriculum and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office. The Current is supported by the initiative #Wunderbar Together. Haus der Kulturen der Welt is supported by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media as well as by the Federal Foreign Office.

Press contact
Jan Trautmann, Haus der Kulturen der Welt: T +49 (0)30 39787 192/196 / jan.trautmann [​at​] hkw.de